EAST MACHIAS, Maine — It appears that U.S. Army Sgt. Casey Kilton can forget about attending his grandmother’s Sept. 9 funeral service in Roque Bluffs.
The 30-year-old mechanic now stationed in Grafenwoehr, Germany, had been granted emergency leave and had taken out a loan to buy plane tickets to attend services for his father’s mother, Alta Kilton, who died Aug. 22 at age 85. He was scheduled to arrive back in his hometown of East Machias from Germany on Wednesday.
That was before what’s described by Kilton as a midnight raid on his home in Grafenwoehr by U.S. military and German police and bomb squads investigating a tip that he had 50 pounds of explosives hidden there as bomb-making materials. A search determined he didn’t, but not before Kilton was taken away in handcuffs and he, his wife, the couple’s 8-year-old daughter and a visiting friend were detained overnight. Although the tip proved groundless, Kilton’s leave remains canceled, and he’s been forced to relinquish his plane ticket.
“The chain of command here, from my sergeant major on up, is treating me like I’ve done some crime,” Kilton said Thursday from Germany in a phone interview with the Bangor Daily News. “I had borrowed money from the Army Emergency Relief Fund to get plane tickets to be with my family. Now they tell me I can’t go because my house is unlivable for a child.”
The day after his detention, Kilton said, the Army inspected his household, which had just been turned upside down by the search for explosives that weren’t there. They found unfolded sheets in the laundry room and beds that were unmade, he said.
“My daughter, being 8, has plenty of toys, and her room was a mess,” he said. “When they did the search they tore up the rest of the house.”
Kilton suspects this whole “bizarre” episode is the result of a Facebook posting that he thinks was somehow intercepted and misinterpreted. He had described online a substance marketed as Tannerite, an ammonium nitrate/aluminum powder used primarily in long-distance target practice with high-velocity firearms. Detonations of Tannerite targets occur at a very high velocity, producing a large explosion and a cloud of smoke. Possession of it is legal in the United States, and Kilton said he ordered 10 pounds to be shipped to East Machias so that he and a friend could shoot targets while Kilton was home on leave.
“It’s made for use with long-distance targets,” he said. “When you’re shooting at a target from 800 meters, it’s hard to know if you’ve hit it unless it lights up when you do.”
Kilton said he’s never possessed Tannerite in Germany, where he has been stationed for two years near the Czech Republic border after two tours in Iraq during his seven-year stint in the military.
“I think that the reason I’m being treated this way is that the chain of command here is upset that I came up on what they call ‘the blotter,’ when I was arrested on suspicion of possessing explosives,” he said. “It made them look bad. Even though I was cleared of any wrongdoing, they’re still treating me like I did some crime.”
Kilton’s mother, Donna, is “stressed out” by the notion that her son won’t be allowed to attend the Sept. 9 memorial service and has sought help from the office of U.S. Sen. Susan Collins and the White House in getting her son’s emergency leave reinstated.
Attempts by the Bangor Daily News to reach U.S. Army officials in Germany and at the Pentagon for comment were not successful.
Collins’ spokesperson Kevin Kelley said Friday that the senator’s office had contacted the office of Army Congressional Affairs for more information. “In response, the Army indicated that it would not provide further information because of an ongoing investigation,” Kelley said.
Donna Kilton said Thursday, “This is a nightmare, and I haven’t slept at all since this happened on Monday. He was supposed to be home by 11 on Wednesday night. He should be here now, and why they are holding him there we just don’t know. Ours is a big and close-knit family, and Casey was very close to his grandmother. We haven’t seen him in a little over two years.”
Although his mother is doing a full-court press to get her son’s leave reinstated, Kilton said Thursday he is not optimistic that he’ll be back to Maine anytime soon.
“My sergeant major told me that, once he makes a decision, he doesn’t change his mind,” Kilton said.
I hope this story gets national publicity.
Contacting Sen. Collins was the way to go, complaining about his chain of command to a newspaper probably won’t help his case, right or wrong.
no it won’t.. in the long run it will wreck whatever career he had in mind.. but in the short term it might get him some relief .. his first in command had something against him already or he would have stood up for him and tried to help.. he didn’t
neither will ignoring the chain of command. His going right to Collins and the newspapers just put the nail in his coffin as far as his career goes.
I thought Islam was our enemy not our soldiers.
Wrong!
Ignorance and Intolerance are our enemies. Islam is a religion
Having spent 13 plus years in the military I sense there is a little more to this story than what has been put out to the press. Lets not be so quick to say the army is wrong.
I agree. They don’t dub your home unfit for a child over a few sheets and a typical eight year old’s room. Where is the army’s side? Why did the reporter just include his side?
Nonsense–People in Maine live in all sorts of conditions from Luxury to dirt floors and five gallon bucket toilets. The Military is bullying this dedicated Mainer and his family wants people to know about it. Period.
yes they do..if they are told to … this smells to high heavens to me.. I’ve seen this kind of crap before .. in the 60’s ..
Having spent 20 years in the U.S. Army I sense there is more to this story than what has been put out to the press, Let’s BE quick to say the army is wrong!
The services do tend have their reasons.
You could be right. But as somebody else who has seen bureaucracy up close, it could also just be the person who ordered the raid, and is now shown to be wrong, not wanting to look bad. He/She will try to make something out of this bungled raid just to CYA. The lower ranking person will be pressured into agreeing to drop the matter after pleading guilty to storing aspirin in an unmarked container. The higher up will cut another notch, the Mainer will come home aggrieved, and other than a wrecked soldier’s life, the Army will continue.
This guy brought all this pain all himself. When he posted military explosives info on facebook, he crossed the line. Surely this guy should have been smart enough to know better. If he didn’t, he does now.
dumbbook……..it always gets ya
The stuff he ordered can be bought over the counter at some sporting goods stores right here in Maine, it’s pretty common.
I was looking at the tannerite targets just the other day at the outdoor sportsman in Northport. This is a very common target to use in the shooting community and now even more so due to shows such as Top Shot and the like. This sound like a bunch of bs to me, to keep this young man away from his grandmother’s funeral is tragic.
They wonder why the Army can’t get people to reup. I know of people with kids who have done 3-4 tours in Iraq and Afghanistan while their military spouse deploys in tandem. That’s a failure at the highest levels though – downsizing the military while running troops into the ground on multiple combat tours and being confused at the Pentagon on such a high suicide and substance abuse rate. You can’t run an effective organization if you treat your people and their families as expendable. Military law is different but servicemen and women are still people with a soul. The military needs better leadership at the top and also a Commander in Chief who actually cares about the military and doesn’t make a mockery of their service. The DOD has no shortage of management – like the federal government it lacks real leadership – selfless men and women – not “leaders” looking to get their next ticket punched for the next advancement. This whole country has a leadership vacuum where leaders have been replaced by a bunch of cowardly “Yes” men.
So many misstatements, where do I start.
First of all, the military re-up rates are very high, and higher than for a long time. So you are wrong there. something you just made up.
Second of all, the war in Iraq is over. Done, finished. I suppose you think it would be good to keep the extra million people in uniform so we could invade some other country. Any candidates on your list? Do you also have a list of our young people that you think should be killed along the way to another “Mission Accomplished”?
When has any high military made a “mockery” of their service? You are inventing that.
Also, leadership replaced by “Yes men”? Any examples? I have some, but they involve Mitt and the Maine Republican Party organization. You probably don’t want to go there, do you?
Reenlistment may be up for the Army do the economy but there is still a high turnover rate. The war in Iraq is over but I still know soldiers who have been on multiple deployments to Afghanistan. We need a stronger military but maybe you think all that money was better used on Obamacare and green energy failures. I saw plenty of corruption in the Army in four years – the worst of it in Germany under USAREUR. The stupidity under General Eric Shinseki’s leadership and others is telling of how pathetic the new politically correct Army has become. We had a CSM who was sleeping with lower enlisted soldiers and several NCO’s and junior Officers who got in trouble while deployed for doing stupid childish things. That’s unrelated to the CID investigations for fraud, waste, and abuse. I left the Army for the Coast Guard and saw a much more professional service – or perhaps I just had really bad luck in the Army. They always said the Army had it’s crap together stateside but almost every unit in USAREUR was viewed as a trainwreck by those in CONUS. I guess your perfect version of the Army didn’t have to give out a pee test twice a week to catch druggies. Testament though that my First Sergeant was at least doing HIS job.
I’m not sure why you are babbling about Mitt Romney or the Maine GOP. Yes, I am very conservative but I am not a fan of cowardly idiots in any demographic – the moderate RINO element has seriously destroyed the GOP of the Reagan years. Still not sure what this has to do with anything in the article
It is rumored that the Maine Army National Guard is under contract to send its drug testing samples to Hawaii for urinalysis after every weekend drill— talk about government waste!
That wouldn’t surprise me – I saw enough waste in eight years of active duty to write a best seller
Let me guess. Bush is at fault?
If you’re gonna throw something at Romney, May I remind you that Obama never served in the military and the great Bill Clinton ran to another country to avoid the draft! Nice try though. And by the way, if the war in Iraq is over, then why do we have people getting killed there every day?
The poster wrote, in code, that Obama was at fault. He stated (and I agree), that there are a lot of “Yes men” to blame, implying that it stems from the current administration. I don’t know about “Yes men” doing the current president’s bidding, but I do know at least one (Summers) doing Mitt’s bidding, no matter how foul the odor.
And where do you get your casualty counts? Americans killed in Iraq every day? You are making that up.
So if I say Romney beats his wife (not true), then you will point out that Clinton has warts? I wrote that an example of a “Yes man” was what happened to the Republican party members at the convention. No matter what the rules said, the outcome the Rep. Party elders wanted was what counted, voters be danged. Because this was against the very rules they made, it represents the actions of a puppet, aka “Yes man”..
True, Obama, Clinton and Romney never served. Neither did Paul Ryan or Biden, nor did any of Mitt’s 5 boys. Not that that is unusual. The fact is, the higher your family income, the less likely you are to serve in the military, no matter what your political affiliation.
Sir, may I ask: have you ever served in any branch of the military?
Why? If one serves, then one can comment? If one never served, you can’t? How about if you went to Vietnam but not Iraq? Can we comment? Are you setting yourself up as some kind of judge to judge if we can comment or not? What does my military background have to do with it? Your premise is repugnant.
Sir, my question (politely asked) coupled with your response simply puts your comment in context. The reader then is better able to judge the validity of your comment(s)!
And your asking personal questions and your answer let’s me know that you judge a response not by the facts, not by the reasoning, but on whether the person is a veteran, a Franco-American, an African-American, a Republican or a Democrat. What it tells me is that you do not evaluate the words, the facts, but that you already know what you think by the demographics of the poster. Stay focused on Fox, you are not likely to encounter counter opinions there. Your politeness is a cover for a very base assumptions, that you can tell a person’s worth by the group you can pigeonhole them into.
Wow! All that from a (politely asked) question! With your every breath you add to the context of your posts – and you still have not answered my question (or have you?)
yes, it may be available here in the US, but this guy lives in Germany. Laws may be different there.
But
MACHIAS is in the USA, where it was sent!
Don’t confuse people with facts. Geezz
yes, it may be available here in the US, but this guy lives in Germany. Laws may be different there.
But it wasn’t sent to Germany, in the article it says he had it ordered for Maine.
Correct!
No offence but really? Anyone involved in practice/target shooting or even hunting for that matter is aware of and the practice of Tannerite. Military explosive my foot, its almost as common as beans and franks…
yes, it may be available here in the US, but this guy lives in Germany. Laws may be different there.
He may not have posted anything about military explosives but just the same – people tend to think before they post as a universal internet rule
“people tend to think before they post as a universal internet rule” Awe, c’mon, where’s the fun in that?!
James it very commom stuff Tannerite is not a Military explosive. it a Target used for target practice and it very common. It can be purchased at Local stores and Online.
come on James… this is not terrorist stuff.. you can buy it anywhere practically… it’s not military explosives…
they army only gives you classes about social media, and the classes are every 3-4 months. I know, I had to teach them.
Tannerite is not a military explosive. It is sold in sporting goods stores. You can even have it shipped to your house by FedEx. It is a binary explosive. It needs to have two parts mixed together, and even then is stable. You can shake it all day long. It detonates when a projectile passes through it at a velosity of 22oo feet per second or faster.
Tannerite is a completely legal commercial product anyone can buy in the US. No one here knows what this guy posted on Facebook – it could have been anything. The Army has a few nuts but there is also cases where the chain of command fails completely and does completely asinine things. I served four years in the Army and switched branches after – it’s an odd mixture of our best and brightest – and a few village idiots thrown in – some who make rank fast and some who don’t. I have seen some good leadership and some criminally negligent leadership. I would be more concerned about all the explosives hysteria if this E5 was a 55B or a 12B with easy access to ammunition and explosives. Article states he is a mechanic in Graf – I spent a lot of time in Graf – it’s a large training area that the US Army took over after WW2 ended.
Alright, I relinquish my name to you good sir. You have way too much logic in your post.
yes, it may be available here in the US, but this guy lives in Germany. Laws may be different there.
The article says he was ordering the material for shipment to Maine. . . There was no indication that he intended to posess the material in Germany.
i know people are going to have mixed feeling on this article,but i am fighting to get him home for his grandmother’s funeral and then we will deal will anything else if he has done anything wrong,which he has already been told by the c.i.d. that nothing was in the house so he was cleared,and could take his leave
It doesn’t matter. he’s in the military and they pretty much have control of you and your life and they will do as they please….
Why do you keep reposting this. Read the article. He had it shipped to Eastport, Maine. It never went near Germany.
It looks like we only have one side of the story so far. If we could get the other side of it (like really soon) we might believe it’s credible. It takes a lot longer to manufacture a story than it takes to just tell the truth.
Ok, so your an NCO with tours to Iraq. At what point do you begin to act like a damn NCO and stop acting a like a child. Really, talking about explosive material you can shoot while home on leave. Talking about an active investigation against you to the media and speaking about your chain of command. It’s called utilizing your right to counsel and an attorney. It’s called being professional and acting like a NCO by not setting bad examples. Yes, placing something on FB about shooting explosive material is really not setting a good example to lower enlisted. Whether it’s legal or not. I have been to Iraq as an Infantry Soldier and have been in Afghanistan for 2 years now embedded with the military. For some reason I’ve seen enough crap to not want to go home and blow crap up. If anyone thinks that this is just an innocent mistake your wrong. I’m sure there is a long list of stuff, totality of the circumstances, that has lead to this Soldiers investigation. Good luck with this one now that you’ve blasted it all over the papers.
So posting about hobbies on facebook is unprofessional and setting a bad example? As far as your experiences and what it makes you want to not do, everyone is different. Just because your feelings make you do one thing doesn’t mean that everyone should be exactly like you.
you have never been in the military have you….
I was in the US Army for 6 years, two Iraq deployments, and was stationed in Germany for a few years.
I also love shooting and blowing things up and have no issues posting about such on facebook.
Hope that helps
Then you should know that the military does not let you take leave for a grandparent unless raised by them!
The military DOES let you take leave for a grandparent! The Army does not usually let you use the Army Emergency Relief Fund to buy your tickets. However, the Commander can write a Letter of Exception for the soldier explaining any mitigating cicumstances. The letter gets reviewed and a decisiion is made.
Actually, the military lets you take leave for anyone’s funeral, as long as you have the leave time built up and are eligible. You can take leave just because you want to, for that matter.
It is all up to the command.
Bullcrap – it happens every day
I don’t know where you get your information but I know for a fact that the Military will give you leave for a grandparents funeral Been there don that
The guys a remf. What do you expect.
Obviously there is more to the story than what is posted here.. But it just goes to prove that big brother is watching.. Twitter, Facebook, Edlin etc they are all monitored by the government and or local police.. Watching these detective stories on tv and the local police first go to Facebook and look at Facebook pages to see what the accused and the victim has posted.. Basically I’m saying watch what you post people big brother is watching..
Ah, the good old Sergeant-Major, a protector of his troops certainly is not his forte. Until and when a soldier is convincingly found guilty a good leader supports his troops. Sounds like this imbecile is caving to the chain of command.
There is a lot more of that then people are willing to admit. Some of the best and worst leaders have been military ones for me – more good then bad but I have seen CID investigate the battalion from the top on down – so anyone who implies that leadership is always above reproach lives in Candyland. Most of our military are honorable and hardworking – hopefully the truth comes out in the case no matter where the truth happens to fall. The problem with serving is you lose many rights you might have as a regular citizen. That makes things dicey if you have family – so be careful what you say and do.
They’re just making an example of him for some soldier who might be thinking of blowing the whistle on the government’s opium operation in Afghanistan — as if putting three holes in Pat Tillman’s forehead wasn’t warning enough.
after 4 years in the Army, and stationed in Germany. I can tell you there is alot more going on here then what I just read.
Below we read, “I thought Islam was our enemy not our soldiers.”
Did you know that Islam is our enemy? Haven’t you been wondering what the recent wars were all about?
Some of us have never been able to figure out why — if the guys who rammed a plane into the building in New York City were from Saudi Arabia — we attacked Iraq and Afghanistan.
If some fanatics from Peru bombed Miami would you get back at them by attacking Brazil? I suppose if they are all South American Catholics it doesn’t make any difference.
A student of logic can learn a lot on these pages.
The humble Farmer
Now I know why you were cancelled…
someone didn’t use any common sense…kiss your military career goodbye
Everyone should not be so quick to assume there is more to the story. A sergeant major has absolute control over every aspect of a soldiers life. A stubborn old crusty one that hates being wrong will destroy someone’s life if it means not eating a little crow.
when you sign on the line and enlist you agree to a code of conduct that civilians aren’t subjected to. This guy made a mistake when he posted on Facebook. As far as the subject of the posts and what he ordered for use at home, those aren’t even the point here. Its a shame that it is messing up his plans to be home for the funeral, but by making it a public issue and saying some of the things he did in this article, he is only digging his hole deeper.
I would agree it’s questionable at best to have a Facebook or any social media if you are in the military. God forbid you disrespect the “Commander In Chief” or say anything politically incorrect. It’s okay to be a gay infantryman but not a gun owner or registered Republican.
For all of those complaining about this let me say this, if you knew anything about the military, they do not, I repeat do not let people take leave for a death of a grandparent unless you were raised by them. And on top of that, the fact that he had bomb making material in his home in Germany I believe that trumps everything anyways. So stop feeling sorry for him and let the military investigate!
Show us where he had ANY bomb making material or where there were any evidence of criminal acts, criminal threatening, or conspiracy to make an explosive. Please reread the article before you jump to conclusions – plenty in the military jump to conclusions which is probably the basis for this whole stupid investigation. Once again, Tannerite is legal in the United States so he was within his rights to order it online and ship it to his Machias residence. I swear a bunch of liberal kool aid drinkers are running the Army now – it was sissyfied when I left – that was bad enough in 2002. No action would have been taken if this soldier had posted on Facebook that he supported a radical Islamic group. The DOD is on self-destruct – zero common sense at the top. Treating young people in their 20’s and 30’s like children gets old. We had our barracks “raided” for contraband pocketknives when I was in (active duty, not some AIT or TRADOC training environment) because an E5 stabbed one of his soldiers. Sure makes you appreciate being a civilian or in another branch where they treat you like an adult.
The article says that his emergency leave had been approved. . .
I will post this again:
The military DOES let you take leave for a grandparent! The Army does not usually let you use the Army Emergency Relief Fund to buy your tickets. However, the Commander can write a Letter of Exception for the soldier explaining any mitigating cicumstances. The letter gets reviewed and a decisiion is made.
Actually, the military lets you take leave for anyone’s funeral, as long as you have the leave time built up and are eligible. You can take leave just because you want to, for that matter.
You seemed to have missed this paragraph in the article:
“That was before what’s described by Kilton as a midnight raid on his home in Grafenwoehr by U.S. military and German police and bomb squads investigating a tip that he had 50 pounds of explosives hidden there as bomb-making materials. A search determined he didn’t, but not before Kilton was taken away in handcuffs and he, his wife, the couple’s 8-year-old daughter and a visiting friend were detained overnight. Although the tip proved groundless, Kilton’s leave remains canceled, and he’s been forced to relinquish his plane ticket.”
The only explosives in this article are perfectly legal and were shipped to Easport, Maine.
People take emergency leave for the death of a grandparent every day. And bomb making material was NOT found in his housing in Germany
Political correctness run amuck – it has even permeated the US Military! However, there is a lesson here: never, never post anything on any social website that could remotely be used against you!
Tannerite is a legal binary explosive. The two parts are harmless by themselves, but when combined they make a loud bang when struck with a high velocity projectile. The binary elements can be purchased (in small amounts) at almost any gun store in Maine. They (as the soldier pointed out) are very useful in long-range target shooting – picture walking 800 to 1000 yards (three-fifths of a mile) between shots to see if you actually hit the target!
As for the sergeant-major: someone should point out to him that a soldier does not surrender his/her constitutional rights when he/she enlists in the US Military!
The military falls under a different law (martial) but the serviceman or woman is still very much a citizen with Constitutional rights as you state. Some on here seem to think that martial law as a servicemember is equal to the military leadership found under authoritarian regimes where military people have no rights. Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Coast Guardsmen, and the Airmen are all citizens who still have a voice. Some on here make military life sound like it’s prison – the military isn’t an omnipotent authority – there are serious limitations on the power granted to commands and some leaders have found that out the hard way when they overstep their bounds. Accountability is a big deal and if the command overstepped their bounds I hope that someone’s career is over here for blacklisting a junior soldier. It wouldn’t be the first time someone jumped to conclusions.
>>> a soldier does not surrender his/her constitutional rights when he/she enlists in the US Military!<<<<
Yes you do. Once you sign the dotted line you are under the MJC. If he is innocent. The military will sort it out and if someone in the chain of command screwed up then they will be punished.
My apologies. East Machias, Maine. I have had Eastport on my mind from another story.
This story too me has something missing it is very hard to determine which is actually happening. But one thing to remember is that when you join the military they OWN you, period! If they say no then it is no if they say jump you say how high.
Sir, have you ever served in any branch of the US military?
There is an very reasonable explanation for all of this, if you look under his left lapel in the photo of him, you will see a 1 inch by 6 inch piece of cloth. On that cloth is ebroidered U.S. ARMY. That means he falls under the UCMJ or Uniform Code of Military Justice. They could deny him leave for almost any reason they want under those laws. I believe its article 133 and 134 which would be conduct unbecoming an officer (and as a Non-Commisioned Officer this can still apply I believe) and a general article he could be punished this severely for having a dirty house. As a NCO you should be held to a high standard, does this mean he should miss his Grandmothers funeral, no, but we may not be seeing the whole picture either. If German police “swooped” in to or stormed your house looking for bomb making material in the wee hours of the morning wouldnt you be aggitated and upset, maybe yell at them or deny your having anything to do with bomb making in a very bosterous way. If the German police then told his CSM that he was resisting, he could deny leave pending an Article 15 or non judicial punishment hearing. All branches of military service are held to the highest standards as they should be, so before we jump on the band wagon and blame the Army maybe we should let them do thier job and decide what happened. By the way if the President is the Commander in Chief of the Armed Services, shouldn’t they be held accountable for the same actions, and if so Clinton would have lost all benefits, and spent time in a federal prison for several infractions including adultry which is still an article, and the person who leaked all the documents to Wikileaks could be hung for divulging sensitive documents during a time of war.
Maybe his commanders are mad because he told them a sad story about his grandma so he could get an emergancy leave and then he bragged on his face book page about all the fun he was planning to have once he got home.